All language subtitles for S01E03 Hadrians Wall (H264)

'Stretching over 8O miles, running
through hills, dales, rivers and mountains,

'Hadrian's Wall is a wonder
of the ancient world.'

You get an idea
of the sheer size and scale

of this gargantuan achievement.

'It signalled the edge of one of the
greatest empires the world has ever known.'

Here we've got the second in
command of a Roman centuria of 80 men.

'Armed with my trusty walking boots,

'I'm going to travel along the entire
length of this iconic monument.'

This section here is known
as the heart of Hadrian's Wall.

'Through rain...'
Absolutely chucking it down!

'..And shine...' If someone painted that view
and showed you it, you wouldn't believethem.

'..L'll learn the secrets
of the Roman Empire.'

If you needed a number two,
this is where you came.

'To the best-kept secrets
of the great British countryside.'

WQW!

Woo-hoo-hoo!

'Meeting many folk along the way.'
Keep up, Robson. Sorry, mate.

That's amazing!

Hello!

'It'll be an epic journey
to take your breath away.'

Oh, wow. I'm not a religious person, but there is
something spiritual about this part of the world.

'So pack your corn plasters,
fill your thermos and join me

'for the walk of a lifetime.'

The Romans, they gave us it all.

'I can't believe I've come this far.

'I've walked over 40 miles
across some incredible landscape,

'from the mouth of the mighty
River Tyne in the east

'through Heddon-on-the-Wall,
to Steel Rigg,

'all the while learning
some amazing stuff about the Romans,

'and I don't want this one to end.

'The places I've been to...'
This is just what you need

after a long, hot day.

'The things I've learned...' There's places
of ill repute here, you're right. Therewas?

'The people I've seen...'
I'll have a sherry. Hey-hey!

'But for the next 46 miles,
I need a pick-me-up

'that you can only get
at the crack of dawn.'

It's early.

It's what we call in my profession
stupid o'clock.

A lot of people say, "You know, Robson, it's not
about the journey, but about the destination."

I hope the place I'm going
this morning is worth it

because I am up with the larks.

Or, in this case,

the bees.

'The Romans loved honey,

'but they didn't just put it
on toast.

'To them, it was a drug,
a cure for acne, for constipation,

'a pick-me-up.

'They even made it into booze.

'Just the tonic I need.

'Luke and Suzie Hutchison are as mad
for honey as the Romans were.'

Morning, guys. Morning.

Hey, you two must really
like honey. Oh, we love it.

'Today, some of their bees are being
allowed to roam over this stunning hillside

'to fill their boots with heather
nectar before the winter sets in.'

It's very, very early.
Aren't the bees asleep?

And won't they get really angry
when we wake them up?

The bees work 24/7, so...
Do they? Yeah.

Bees don't sleep? No.
Do they sense fear?

Em...possibly.

Don't sweat. Whatever you do,
don't sweat. Yeah, no sweating.

Oh, like I've got control over that. You
saying that has just started to makeme sweat.

Right.

Have any of you been stung before?
Well, it varies.

Some days you don't get stung at all, other
days you might get stung four or five times.

And when you got stung four or five
times, did it hurt? Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Not what you'd call
thick gloves, are they?

Oh, they can sting through the
gloves, and the suit. Why tell me that?!

Just don't sweat. Don't sweat.

All right. So...right.

I feel like
a bit of a Ghostbuster, Suzie.

Yeah, you will.
Don't cross the streams.

Or, in this case,
don't cross the bees.

Right. Into the bees' den.
Let's go!

'Oh! They're looking lively
already.'

They're going in all sorts of
directions. I've just been nutted by one!

They don't seem happy. No, they're
absolutely fine. They're not stinging.

They're just curious. We're just
giving them a little bit of smoke.

It's kind of a knock on the door,
let them know we're coming in.

There you are. Oh, my goodness.
If you get your nose in here...

I can smell it from here. Yeah. I can
actually smell it from here. Yeah, yeah.

That's insanely beautiful. Wow!

Yeah, it's amazing.

So we're just really gentle.
Uh-huh.

It's a bit like somebody coming to your house,
taking the roof off, and lifting a wallout.

It's a burglary. That's what it is.
Let's not beat about the bush.

So we've just got to be really gentle
with them, make sure that they're happy.

So there you go. That's the honey
on the comb. That is jam-packed.

Bring your hand and just pop it between
the frames there, just really gently.

Right. You can feel the heat from the hive
and the actual heat coming out of there.

Oh, my goodness, yeah!

What is it about this honey
that makes it so special?

Well, it's heather honey. It's also
Northumberland heather honey,

So obviously that's very special.

'These amazing worker bees make
this honey by chewing the nectar

'and passing it between themselves
until it reaches the right consistency.'

HE YAWNS Do you know what,
guys? I've been to some picnic spots

in my time,
but nothing compares to this.

This is incredible.

I can't wait. Do you mind
if I have a taste? Go for it.

Here we go. This is a first.

That just makes your taste buds
sing, that. Oh!

'I feel a bit guilty.

'Each teaspoon represents the entire
life's work of about 12 bees.

'Luke and Suzie also use
their honey to produce mead,

'the oldest known alcoholic drink and
a favourite tipple of the Roman Empire,

'but they've given it
a modern twist.'

We actually mix some of this really lovely
honey that we gather with spring water

and we do a fermentation
in the bottle.

This creates bubbles, so it's made in the
same way as you would make champagne.

'I mean, it's 7.07 am.

'It's a bit early
to be getting on it.'

That's lovely.

Do you think
this is what the legionaries

or, say, the higher-titled people
in Roman times would be drinking?

Well, yes. The Romans valued
honey and the beeswax

and they used it in medicine
and all manner of things.

It wouldn't have been the footsoldiers
that would have drunk the mead,

but it would have been the ones higher up in the
ranks that would have had this sort of thing.

Amazing.

'Now I don't like to pull rank,
but we better keep moving

'before the crew get hold
of the mead.'

'I'm continuing my journey
east to west

'along Hadrian's Wall.'

So this is the beautiful, quaint
and idyllic town of Gilsland.

And it's a place
that straddles two counties.

And bear with.

If I stand like this...

...part of me is in Northumberland
and the other half is in Cumbria.

So I guess you could call me
a Northumbrian Cumbrian.

I thank you! I'm here all week.
See what I did there?

That hurt.

I think I pulled something there.

Just taking a bit of a detour
from Hadrian's Wall,

alongside the River lrthing.
I'm looking for a stone.

Ah! There it is. Not any old stone.

The famous...Popping Stone.

'So called because,
after a whirlwind romance,

'it's where Sir Walter Scott popped
the question to his sweetheart.'

Hence the name, the Popping Stone.

This is such an impressive sight.

This wall was built to last.

Back then, the Roman Empire
to everybody was forever.

You just start to get imagery
of those thousands of soldiers

just building
this gargantuan structure.

I mean, what an achievement.

And I know a lot of it has disappeared,
but that's only because it was nicked.

'The wall might not have been
dismantled in Cumbria,

'but a different type of vandal
was at work here.'

Oh, bit of a tour going on.

Morning, ladies. Oh!
Do you mind if I join in?

You doing a bit of a tour? We are.
we're having a tour here of Hadrian's Wall.

Oh, lovely. I'm Robson. Hi.
What's your name? I'm Sue.

Sue, are you a tour guide? I am a tour guide,
yes. And who are you touring? What's your name?

Christine. Anita. And Jeanette.

Jeanette, Robson. So, Sue,
what have you been talking about?

What we're here for really is to look at
some of the more unusual inscriptions

that can be found along the wall.
Inscriptions?

Like carvings?
Carvings of worship and religion?

There are. Like, "Augustus
was here!" Exactly. Gotcha, OK.

'Obviously, graffitiing the wall
is a strict no-no these days.'

We're looking for
a specific type of inscription.

And what specific type of symbol
or inscription is that, Sue?

It's a willy. It's a what?!
It's a phallic symbol.

Are you kidding me? You're saying
there's willies on Hadrian's Wall?

Willies on Hadrian's Wall!
I do not believe you.

This is what you lot are doing
for your kicks? Sod the history!

Hold me back! "Let's have a look
at some willies, shall we?"

So what we're going to look for
is a stone

on the bottom course,
which has got an X on it.

And then if you look up and... one,
two, three, four, five, six courses up,

see what you can find.

One X. There's an X.

And six... Oh!

Jeanette! Well spotted!

Was that force of habit?

Are you telling me
that's a 2,000-year-old...carving?

Yes.

Well, believe it or not,

these were used as good luck
symbols. Really? Oh, yes!

Willies are symbols of good luck? Symbols of good
luck. Four-leaf clovers are symbols of good luck.

Ah! But in Roman times,

this protected you
from the evil eye.

The phallic symbol was
very, very popular

and people used to wear them
round their necks.

So they were used
above doorways as well.

So they would have been all round the
Roman Empire, all over the world. Yes, yes.

And it tells us so much
about the troops that were here.

They had a sense of humour.
They had a sense of humour!

But who was that based on?

Cos I think we're bordering on the realms of
fantasy there. Do you know what I'm saying?

I think somebody with a very vivid
imagination carved that. Yes.

Sue, I'll be honest with you, the one thing
I never thought I'd see on this journey

is a 2,000-year-old willy carving.

That has been enlightening
and fascinating.

Been lovely to meet you. Take care.
And you. Nice to see you. Enjoy your walk.

Enjoy looking for your willies.

'Well, that's a phrase I didn't
think I'd be saying on this journey.

'And if looking for stone willies
is your thing,

'apparently there's
another 56 of them along the wall.

'I'm stopping off at Birdoswald, one
of the 16 forts along Hadrian's Wall.

'It lies between Haltwhistle
and Brampton,

'north of the River lrthing.

'Tony Wilmott has been working here
for over 30 years,

'so knows a thing or two about the
mystery of why, westwards from here,

'the wall suddenly changes its
structure from stone to grass and mud.'

So am I right in thinking suddenly it
transitions into a turf wall? That's right, yeah.

From Milecastle 49
to Bowness-on-Solway,

it's built of turf. Em...
Now why was that then?

A couple of ideas. One of them is the fact
that you've got red sandstone over there.

You've not got the limestone,
so logistics is one explanation.

Another explanation that's come up
is that they wanted it up fast

because there was more of a threat from the western
side. So they wanted to build the barrier fast.

'Today, the turf wall is
largely invisible,

'but its construction reveals important
information about Roman Britain

'to archaeologists today.'

When you're building
a turf earthwork,

you are taking the turf off, and then you're
putting it on top of the existing ground surface.

And you're sealing seeds
and pollen,

and we can get an idea of what
the pre-Roman landscape looked like

from analysing the pollen
underneath those earthworks.

And I can tell you
that in the year 122,

this was a boggy woodland. Two-and-a-half
miles that way, you've got grazed moorland.

And then, over to the east,
you've got arable.

'Incredible that we know all that
from some ancient pollen and seeds.'

What is it about archaeology
that floats your boat, Tony?

It's...it's the discovery.

You get the occasional little bit
that flicks you back

and one of those was when we were
scraping the bottom turf of the turf wall.

I saw this little flash of red, which
was about the size of my thumbnail.

A little oval stone thing.

And it was a jasper intaglio
from a ring,

from a finger ring. Wow.
Turned it over,

it was an imperial eagle,
with its wings folded,

laurel wreath in its beak, flanked by
two imperial standards. Oh, my Lord.

That had dropped out of the ring
of a legionary soldier

building the turf wall
of Hadrian's Wall.

And you just got that...
back to that individual.

Love it. Tony, love your knowledge,

I love the way you just bring
everything to life.

That's what it's all about. Mate, pleasure
meeting you. And you. Wish me luck. To the west!

Happy walking. Thank you.

WHISTLES CHEERILY

'Better keep on keeping on.

'I've still got 40 miles to go.'

Drinks and snacks? Well, I never.

What have we got here?

Is this some kind of
cute little self-service cafe?

A cup of tea - a quid.
Cheap at half the price.

A-ha! Cheers.

'I don't think it gets
much more British than this.

'Self-service tea on the side
of a World Heritage Site.

'And in case you're wondering, I'd like to
point out I did put money in the honesty box,

'they just forgot to film it.
Honest.

'If, like me, you find yourself
walking along Hadrian's Wall,

'it really helps
if you absolutely love a gate.

'And I have to be honest,
it's completely knackering.'

HE GIGGLES
What the hell...?!

I'm feeling it. Man, I'm tired.

I'll tell you how tired I am.
Even my tiredness is tired.

And I'm hungry.

I know you're going, "Oh, shut up!
You're on a jolly! Get some perspective!"

No, I'm hungry.
I could murder a chicken casserole.

Carbonara.

I have a certain penchant
for a carbonara.

But when you're heading
to Brampton in Cumbria,

there's only one thing to eat.

'Hold onto your hats
because there's a meat fact coming.

'Cumbria used to be called
Cumberland

'and it's where the famous sausage
gets its name.'

This is incredible. Everything
you could imagine and more.

'Dave has been wrangling sausages
here since 1984.'

That's what I've come to see
and hopefully taste.

The famous Cumberland sausage, right?
That is the famous Cumberland sausage.

I have to ask, what makes it different
to all the other sausages in the world?

It's got to be no less than
20mm thick. Seriously? Seriously.

It's got to be heavily spiced, and it's got
to be one length, no less than five foot.

What?! And it's also
got to be in a coil.

'Dave's not always been a fan
of this Cumbrian delicacy.'

My gran used to make her own
Cumberland sausage. I couldn't eat it.

It was far too peppery for me.
My gran used to make jugged hare.

Jugged hare?jugged hare.
She did. She'd chop a hare up,

put it in a jug, fill the jug with sherry,
put a cork on it and put it underground!

And then expect us to eat it
at Christmas!

Bloody awful. Anyway...
I have to ask. ls it good for you?

Look how slim I am!

Why don't you come round the counter
and I'll show you how it's made?

I never thought you'd ask!

Right, in order to make a Cumberland
sausage, you've got to look thepart.

Just tie it behind my back.

You couldn't do me up, could you,
David? Thanks very much.

Cos you know, in my normaljob
I get people to do this.

I'm sure I can tie your apron if you're
going to play with my sausage. Oi!

We're here all week. It's
a family show. Steady on. Right.

Right, David, I have to ask
before we start.

What do you actually call someone who
produces and makes Cumberland sausage?

Sausage maker.

Stupid question! 'Let the
sausage coiling masterclass begin.'

Right, you're going to take the end
of your sausage and put it on the tray.

Uh-huh. And then you're going to...
put it in a coil. Right.

Keep twisting and turning
at the same time, the sausage.

It will snap if you don't. Right.
So you just keep turning.

How am I doing?

You're doing all right.
You've got a bit of a twist in it.

'I feel like
I'm on The Generation Game.'

I've got a kink in my sausage,
David. Hang on. Story of my life.

Well, I'll give you about...
I'll give you nine out of ten,

but let's look over here.
Look what I've done here.

If I took that to the Tate Modern Gallery,
I'd probably get ten grand for that.

I reckon I'd give you your P45
for that. Really?

Why don't we cook some off? I love
the way you're thinking, David.

'This is what
I've been waiting for.'

Wow, Mark. It smells amazing.

Beautiful. Man!

That is off the scale.

What I love about this shop is
there's an amazing array of meat

and just hidden away here...

there's a little
vegan chickpea roll.

It's a nice touch, isn't it?
Ah...

'I like a legume
as much as the next person,

'but I think I'll stick
with the sausage today.'

That is lovely. Really lovely.

David, thank you so much.
You're welcome.

What a day, what an experience.
What a taste!

'I'm walking along Hadrian's Wall.

'I've travelled over 60 miles
so far

'and another 20 to go
to the finish line.

'One thing I didn't expect to find
was so much graffiti.

'Roman legionaries either
really liked to leave their mark

'or they had too much time
on their hands,

'because as well as carving willies
along the wall,

'they left other examples
of their handiwork

'in some quite hard-to-reach
places.'

Now in my spare time,
when I'm not in front of the camera,

I do like a bit of fishing
and cycling.

And I've recently taken up climbing,
which I think will come in handy today,

because I'm off to glimpse
some Ancient Roman graffiti.

But a glimpse in this case

requires a harness, a helmet,

and a head for heights.

'And it's here that one of the most important
inscriptions in Roman Britain can be found.'

Ah. This must be the fella.

Jon Allison, archaeologist?

Robson. Nice to meet you, buddy. You
going to show me some ancient inscriptions?

Yes. You want to drop your bag off?
Yeah.

Thanks, Jon. Right, let's go.
'The inscriptions are incredibly rare

'and I'm really lucky
to be seeing them up close

'as they were carved into soft Cumbrian
sandstone, which is slowly wearingaway.'

Are they still in good condition,
Jon? Er, no.

From my observations, I've been
walking down here for years

and each year I visit, they seem
to be less and less visible.

So it looks like they're eroding
away and I personally don't think

they'll be here
for many more decades.

Seriously, that short? That short.
Wow. They're disappearing fast, Robson.

So your job is to preserve these inscriptions
to be enjoyed for generations to come?

Absolutely. Gotcha.

'The Roman markings were only
rediscovered in the 18th century

'and I can see why.
It's not exactly accessible.'

Up here? Up here.
Ah, now it gets interesting.

It's clarty, man.
It's gonna get slippy.

All right, lads? How we doing? Very
well. Robson. Nice to meet you.

'I didn't realise
how much of a climb it was.

'I might have oversold myself here.'
Nice one.

Here we go then, Robson.
Come on, son!

It's what it's all about.
I'll put my catch on.

You know, in my game, this would be defined as a
stunt. I used to have people who did this sortof thing.

I'll be with you in a sec, Jon.
I'm just admiring the view.

OK.

'Of a steep rock face
and the drop to the river below.'

We've got the Gelt River
in flood below us. The Gelt River.

Ancient word for Crazy River.

Whoa...!
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Oo-cha!

Come on.

All right, lad!

Be with you in a second, I promise.
JON LAUGHS

Ohhh! I felt that!

Ohhh!

AVW/Fyi!

Of all the ways to view graffiti,
there's got to be easier than this, Jon.

Quarrying for stone is
a risky business, isn't it?

Right, this seems significant,
but I have to say...

What is this?
Some kind of Ancient Roman emoji?

It looks like an emoji, doesn't it?
It does.

I've come to the conclusion
that he's a deity.

Not just a deity,
but he's a water deity.

So this is something
that was worshipped?

More likely,
it's a symbol of good luck.

They're working next to water...
Right. ..these Roman soldiers.

Perhaps they're a superstitious lot and they're
asking for good luck not to fall in the water.

Pure speculation, but I like it. That's
the good thing about archaeology.

'Hashtag stop me falling
in the water face.'

Do these inscriptions here tell you the type
of men that were working on the face here?

We're telling the story of people,
Robson, here.

What people at the bottom
of the food chain were doing.

From all these inscriptions, we've got a
list of names of people who've been here.

Here we've got the optio,
the second-in-command,

of a Roman centuria of 80 men.

And the centurion,
which begins with "Apr".

We know who one of the quarry
managers were, Mercatius Ferni.

We've got Eppius, further across.
We've gotjulius below us.

'It's great we have the names of
the men who actually worked here,

'the lads on the tools, not the ones sitting
in the Roman equivalent of head office.'

Could these inscriptions and this
graffiti be their stamp on their work?

Like, "We were here.
We did this. Remember us."

Absolutely. A lot of the inscriptions are
them just doing that. "This is me, I washere."

I have to say, Jon, when it comes to history
lessons, this is my type of classroom.

It's absolutely compelling.

Thanks very much, Robson. As an archaeologist,
we don't just want to find stuff.

We want to tell people about it too and the
story of the people. Thanks very much forcoming.

It's cracking, eh? Cracking, Robson.
Cracking! Aye. Right, how do we get down?

'The wall, eh? It's a wild world
of graffiti, penises, mead, rocks,

'and sausage rolls.

'The more I find out
about Hadrian's Wall,

'the more I'm learning about the
people who manned and maintained it.

'And, you know, they're not
who I thought they were.

'On the north side of the River
Eden, across from Carlisle city centre,

'is this lovely field.

'There's not much evidence
of Romans here today,

'but it was once the largest fort
on Hadrian's Wall

'and home to over
a thousand soldiers.

'Author and journalist Robin
Yassin-Kassab discovered an unexpected link

'to his own Middle Eastern heritage while
writing an article about Hadrian's Wall.'

I found something
which really surprised me,

which was that there is the
tombstone at Corbridge on the wall

of a character called Barathes,
who was a Syrian.

You know, two millennia ago.

So that in itself was interesting
because, 2,000 years ago,

there were people here from Syria,
as my father's a Syrian.

There were Iraqis, there were
Spaniards and there's the grave

of a northwest African who is
buried somewhere on the wall.

Was there one defining moment of
your journey along Hadrian's Wall?

For me, the moment was when I discovered
that this guy Barathes had married

a local Celtic woman, who had
become a slave early in her life,

and at some point had been bought
by Barathes, the Syrian,

and it seems to have been a love
story because he spent a lot of money

on what was
a very elaborate tombstone.

Doing that trip down the wall, finding
out about these ancient Syrians and Iraqis

and their relationships with locals,
showed that my own blood, if you like,

is connected to this history.

From your story, I'm getting that it
kind of gave you a sense of place.

I suppose you could say that, yes.

It makes you feel that
the whole world is your home

and I think that's true.
All human beings should feel,

to some extent,
at home anywhere in the world.

Not only do you learn
about the past and your origins,

you see yourself in the present and how you fit
within that world in a much more intelligent way.

Yes. Therefore I think you have
an idea of where you're going.

If you don't know where you're coming from, you
don't know where you're going to, as Bob Marley said.

You have to go out and see it
and touch it

and feel it and hear people's
stories, cos that's what it is.

Stories, we learn from them all.
DISTANT SIREN

I'd get that siren seen to!

He'll never sell ice creams
going at that speed.

I enjoyed talking to you, man.
Absolute joy. Great talking to you too.

'It's really inspiring
seeing Robin's passion

'and it makes me think
that the story of Roman Britain

'isn't really in toilets,
tunics and technology.

'It's in its people.

'And what a bunch they were.

'I've done most of it the hard way,

'walking for miles in what passes
for a British summer,

'but today I want
a bird's eye view.'

How you doing, Chris?
Robson, good afternoon, sir.

Good afternoon. How are you?
Very well. Very well indeed.

Is it a good afternoon to fly, sir? Excellent.
And you'll be flying the aircraft, so...

Eh?! Oh, yes.
Have you not got a licence, like?

I have indeed. You'll be in the front, I'll be
in the back. I'll be in the front?! You will.

I suspect I need a costume change.
You will, yeah.

Where's my Winnebago?
It's just round the back.

Walk this way.
My Winnebago is over here.

'I've always been fascinated
by flying.'

I was in the Air Training Corps
as a young lad.

Never wanted to be a presenter or
an actor. Always wanted to be a pilot.

As an air cadet in the Air
Training Corps, 861 Squadron,

I flew gliders, Chipmunks, Bulldogs,
wanted to fly in Lightnings. Sure.

Ended up putting makeup on and
poncing about in front of a camera,

but gyrocopters, what are they like to fly?
They are excellent. Really, really good.

Okey-dokey, Chris. Three words
very close to my heart. Yes?

Health and safety. Excellent.

What are the dos and don'ts
from my point of view? Don't crash.

It's good advice,
but it's not enough. OK.

All I need to say now is if I go
into the ground like a dart,

only to be found like a Roman relic
in 2,000 years' time, it's Chris's fault.

'I've done a fair bit of flying,
but never in one of these.'

Stops you falling out
when we go upside down.

That's not funny.
It's just not funny.

I love you, Mum!

'Gyroplanes are a cross between a
fixed-wing aeroplane and a helicopter

'and, according to my director,
it's one of the safest aircraft to fly.'

Ah!

There's so many ways to travel
alongside Hadrian's Wall.

You can walk, you can cycle,
of course you can drive the car.

But for me, this...
is the only way to travel!

Robson, you OK? Yeah, very good.

Wow.

Woo-hoo-hoo!

'I'm speechless and if you've
watched the rest of the series,

'you'll know
I'm never lost for words.'

So we're flying over
the ancient Roman town of Carlisle.

And there's Carlisle Castle.

And if you were a Roman 2,000 years
ago, looking for some R&R,

you know, if you wanted to let your hair down,
Carlisle was the place to be 2,000 years ago.

This is great, Chris. This is great.

Look at the Solway!
It looks stunning!

Oh, my goodness!
What a beautiful sight.

And there's the area
at the end of Hadrian's Wall.

That's where it ends.
That's where I'm headed.

Wow.

'It's amazing what you can see
from up here.

'Although the turf part
of Hadrian's Wall isn't visible,

'it wasn't the only thing the Romans
built in this part of the world.'

Directly below us is
a very long and straight road.

And long and straight roads
mean only one thing to me -

Roman. And these types
of structures, infrastructures,

are dotted all the way along
and around Hadrian's Wall.

Incredible.

Robson, shall we get you on the
controls and flying the aircraft?

You want me to fly the aircraft?
Yeah! OK.

You have control. Where's my...?
OK. I have control, Chris.

Airspeed indicator is
the middle dial.

OK, so I'm just going to bank to the left.
Looking to the left. Hope there's nothing there.

There you go. Good.
Bank to the left.

Straighten up. Straighten that up.

Great. A little bank to the right here, Chris?
Just to prove you're flying the aircraft.

Nothing to do with me.

Let's just... Yes, let's make sure the
houses don't get any bigger. That's right.

My goodness.

Ahh!

What a beautiful day. And sight.

Chris, am I still in control
of this aircraft? Oh, my goodness!

I got distracted there, Chris, and I just
thought, "The ground's getting a bit close."

l'lljust bring us up a bit.
l'lljust bring the nose up.

'I bet you're thinking, "Oh, he
picked up gyrocopter flying quickly."

'Actually, Chris is back in control while I do
my best Kate Winslet from Titanic impression.'

Yes!

Oh...!

Chris, I cannot thank you enough.

That was the trip of a lifetime.

That was amazing.

And it's a great way to see the
history of this area, it really is.

I always wanted to be a pilot
and today I was.

With my mate, Chris.
Cheers, buddy. No problem at all.

'That trip has really set me up

'and I'm now ready
for the final part of my journey.'

'I can't quite believe it, but I'm on the
final leg of my walk along Hadrian's Wall.

'I've just had a bird's eye view
of my final few miles

'and now I'm going to have a view
of some birds.'

Now in a world ruled
by gods and goddesses,

birds of prey played a really
important role in Romans' belief system.

Because of the power of flight, it
gave them superiority and symbolism.

If you were to hear an owl hoot
in Ancient Rome,

it foretold imminent death.

It's true. I read it somewhere.

'Hopefully, that's just
an old Roman wives' tale

'because Gary Swainson is about to introduce
me to some Cumbrian birds of prey.'

The sun's come out. Gary!
Hi, Robson! How are you doing?

I'm very well. Nice to meet you.

OK, come on
and I'll show you the birds.

How many have you got onsite, Gary?
We have about 15 birds altogether.

Ah, who have we got here?

This is the star of the show
at the moment.

This is Pedro,
and Pedro is a spectacled owL

He's just a baby. He's only
15 weeks old. He's stunning.

Tch-tch-tch!

Here we go. Excellent.
Wow. Hiya, pal.

How are you doing? How do you do?

Do you mind if I see you and Pedro
in action? Absolutely not at all.

That would be great. Let's do it.

That's it. Let's get you up. Come
on, you beautiful creature. Good lad.

There you go. Hello.

Right.

Here he is. This is Pedro.
Hello, mate.

He's really gentle. If you want to touch him,
he'll nibble your fingers, but he won't bite.

He's very, very gentle. He won't
bite at all(!) He just went to biteme!

No, he won't hurt you.
He went for my neck!

These are some of the most
efficient killers in the world.

True, look at these. Look at him, yeah.
But actually, he's honestly very gentle.

He'll nibble, but there's no biting.
Ah, hello, mate. You're beautiful.

Shall we see him in action? Cool,
yeah. Let's take him down the steps here.

'Training killer owls not only
allowed the Romans to hunt,

'but intimidate their enemies.

'It take a lot of skill
and patience.'

Right, Gary,
page one of Training An Owl...

First, get your owl. Right, I'll travel to
Paraguay. OK, I've done that and back.

But here's one I prepared earlier.
And what we're gonna do

is pop Pedro down
on this little perch here.

Mm-hm. There you go, pal.

I'm going to give you a piece of
chicken so he's got a reward this time.

Oh, hello!

Here's Pedro! Pedro's off!
That's OK.

I just thought he thought my nose
or my eye was a piece of chicken!

Oh! Heart rate.
I'm all right. Everything's fine.

Tch-tch-tch-tch.

Tch-tch-tch-tch.
Tch-tch-tch-tch.

Wow. Excellent.

Pedro, you did it.

He's never actually flown free yet.
He's never had a free flight.

So do you want to be the person
to fly him free for the first time?

Oh, well, be it on your head
cos he could bugger off.

'They say never work
with animals and children.

'I wonder if that applies
to adolescent owls too?'

OK, no pressure.
This is Pedro's first free flight.

With an actor
holding a piece of chicken.

What could possibly go wrong?

OK?

This is it, Pedro. It's the big one.

Excellent! Excellent.
Take one! Mate!

So that's good. At 15 weeks old, he's
doing so well. I'm delighted with him.

It's amazing. Well done.
What a great thing to do.

You have a nibble at my finger. Ooh. He's
got through to the bone there. Keep going.

'What a great day.

'I wanted to say a real hoot,
but the producers wouldn't let me.

'I'm on the final furlong.

'What an adventure. What a journey.

'I've smashed my daily step count.

'I've eaten eight bacon butties.
That's one in every ten miles.

'I've crossed dozens of gates,
met 79 people, a dog and an owl.

'And the end is finally in sight.'

Oh, some fellow walkers.

Hi, guys. How are you doing?

Are you heading
to Bowness-on-Solway?

Yeah. What have we got
going on here, then?

This is a walking stick flute.
A walking stick flute?

This is a first. Come on.

GENTLE FLUTE TONE

That has to be the most surreal
moment of this whole journey!

That was brilliant!
That was brilliant.

'It's been great meeting people
along the way,

'but I think I'd like to do
this last bit on my own.'

"Welcome to the end
of the Hadrian's Wall Path."

This is lovely. Look at that.

Isn't that pretty?

'I'm glad I walked east to west.
What a beautiful place to finish.

'I can't quite believe it, but it's
time for my final passport stamp.

'That feels good.'

I've done what I set out to do.

I think I'll go for a walk
along the beach.

'I've been lucky enough
to travel all over the world.

'132 countries at the last count.

'I've seen some amazing things
and been to some extreme places,

'but I've always liked coming home.

'And this journey has made me
realise home isn't your living room.

'It's not even your street
or your town.

'It's not what you can see
or touch. It's what you feel.

'It's where your heart takes you.'

I have learnt so much
on this journey.

From sanitation,
education, medicine,

roads, wine, public health system,
fresh water system.

The Romans...

They gave us it all.

But for me this has been a story
of all people from all places

at all times.

And the story of Hadrian's Wall and
everything it tells us of our past

is one of the most beautiful and
unique time capsules in the world.

And I love the fact that people
from all over the world

come to visit a place
that I am still very proud

to call home.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media